Manual projector for a bowling ball



Sept. 22, 1964 G. SWANSON 3,149,840

MANUAL PROJECTOR FOR A BOWLING BALL Filed Feb. 7, 1962 INVENTOR. GOSTASWANSON BY PM PM Q ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,149,840 MANUALPROJECTQR FER A BOWLING BALL Gosta Swanson, R0. Box 2.6, Hollis, NEH.Filed Feb. 7, 1962, Ser. No. 171,774 3 Claims. (Cl. 273i29) Thisinvention relates to a manual implement for propelling a ball, orsimilar game piece, along a playing surface. It especially relates tothe sport of bowling and to a novel projector by which a bowling ballcan be accurately aimed and propelled down an alley, without excessivephysical exertion, the projector somewhat resembling a shuflle boardpaddle.

Manual implements have heretofore been proposed wherein a handle isgripped by the player, the handle having a head which slides on theplaying surface while pushing the ball and rolling it along the surface.It has also been proposed to provide a handle with an invertedhemispherical cup which fits over the top of a ball for guiding androlling the ball along a playing surface.

' In this invention, however, the implement does not merely strike orguide a ball with the ball supported on the playing surface, but rather,the implement carries, supports and rolls the ball along the surfaceuntil the ball is released.

In U.S. Patent 2,263,602 of November 25, 1941 and US. Patent 2,280,331of April 21, 1942, both to O. F. Whittle, a wheeled carriage, having ahandle, supports the ball as the ball is advanced by the player.However, the ball is not freely movable for rolling along the carriageand fits in a depression formed by rollers so that it may be powerrotated in the depression to impart a spinning motion.

The projector of this invention does not confine the ball in adepression but permits the ball to roll freely along stationary,elongated, laterally spaced, parallel tracks or guides, from therearward end to the forward end and the ball is supported under eachopposite side of the centre to permit such free travel. The tracks, orguides, are horizontal when the implement is shifted along the floor,propelled forwardly with the ball and stopped to cause the ball to rollalong the spaced tracks prior to rolling off the forward end and downthe alley.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a low cost, ruggedimplement or projector for a bowling ball which is unitary with nomoving parts and which supports the ball but offers no resistance torollable advance of the ball along the spaced tracks toward the bowlingpins.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bowling ball projectorin which the head slides horizontally flatwise on the playing surfacewhile the ball is supported at a spaced distance above the playingsurface on a pair of laterally spaced, horizontal, continuous guidemembers for free rolling therealong.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device for carryingand propelling a ball forwardly in which the ball is contacted only bystationary, fixed parallel tracks each under one ofthe oppositeundersides of the ball, well below the centre and by pusher meansincapable of imparting any undesired spin, or sidewise wiggle to theball.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from theclaims, the description of the drawing and from the drawing'in which-FIG. 1 is a side elevational View of a preferred embodiment of theinvention,

FIG. 2 is a front televational view of the device shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 of another embodiment of theinvention,

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, and

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of an embodiment of the invention formed ofmetal rather than wood.

As shown in FIGURES l and 2, in its preferred embodiment the manualimplement, or projector, 20 of the invention is designed for use with asuitable movable game piece such as the bowling ball 21 on a suitableplaying surface such as the fioor 22 of a bowling alley. The projector20 is preferably unitary with no moving parts and made of wood, plasticor equivalent material so that it is rugged and inexpensive. Projector20 includes an elongated handle 23 having an upper, or grip, end 24 anda lower, or head, end 25.

Projector 20 also includes a head 26 which may be integral with thelower end of handle 23, threadedly connected thereto or otherwiseaffixed to the handle. The lower face 27 of head 26 is smooth and flatfor sliding fiatwise on the floor 22 from the forward, or handle, end 28of the head to the rearward or free terminal end 29 of the head. Whenthe lower face 27 is horizontal on the horizontal floor 22 the handle 23inclines upwardly so that it may be grasped by a player at the grip end24 without undue exertion or bending of the body.

Track means 32 is provided on the head 26 for supporting the ball 21 outof contact with the floor 22 but free of obstructions to rollingparallel to the floor toward the pin end of the bowling alley. Thehandle 23, head 26 and track means 32 all extend longitudinally and allare elongated although the handle 23 might extend vertically from thehead if such a construction proved desirable. Track means 32 comprises apair of longitudinally extending, laterally spaced members, or supports33 and 34 which are continuous and preferably straight. Each member 33or 34 is on an opposite side of the longitudinal centre line of the headand supports the ball 21 on one of the opposite undersides 35 or 36 wellbelow the centre of the ball for free rolling along the members from theforward end to the rearward end of the members. The upper faces 37 and38 of each member 33 or 34 are in parallelism and in parallelism withthe lower face 27 of the head 26 whereby the ball 21 is supported at auniform spaced distance above the lower face 27 and above the floor 22.

Preferably the head 26 is bifurcated with the members 33 and 34 formingthe forks and preferably the forks are of uniform cross section with theupper faces 37 and 38 of arcuate configuration to conform to thespherical shape of the ball 21. The device may thus be convenientlyformed of wood which is the preferred material for sliding engagementwith the fioor 22.

The projector 26) also includes pusher, or stop means 41 at the handleend of the head for imparting motion to the ball and preventing the ballfrom falling oif the handle end of the track means 32.

Pusher means 431 is preferably an integral, stationary, upstandingelement 42 arranged to contact the rear surface 43 of the ball 21 atleast at the level of the centre when the ball is supported on trackmeans 32. Element 42 may have a curved face 44 for engaging the ball, asshown, but other equivalent stop elements can be used if desired.

In FIGURES 3 and 4 another embodiment of the in vention is illustratedwherein the handle 50' and head 51 are similar to handle 23 and head 26but the head 51 is of increased height. The track means 52 comprises thetwo fork-like members 53 and 54 of the head 51, each of which is ofuniform cross section with an arcuate upper face 55 or 56 at a spaceddistance above the fiat, smooth, lower face 57 of the head, each forsupporting the ball on an opposite underside thereof below the centre ofthe ball. In this embodiment the pusher means 53 contacts the rear faceof the ball through about one hundred and eighty degrees of angulardistance from one side of the ball to the other.

In FIGURE 5 another embodiment of the invention is shown in which theparts are made of metal rather than of wood. The handle 65? and the headall are similar to handle 23 and head 26, but two parallel bars ofaluminum are used, bent at 62 and at 63 and connected by transversemembers 64, 65, 66 and 67. Member 64 forms a hand grip, member 65 formsthe pusher means 68 and members 56 and 67 serve to strengthen thebifurcated head 61. The track means 69 comprises a pair of paralleledgewise upstanding members 71 and 72 each having a ball supportingupper face 73 or 74 parallel to the fiat lower face 75 of the head.

The flat lower face 75 thus constitutes a pair of parallel runners andthe laterally, spaced parallel, stationary ball supporting faces '73 and74 each engage one of the opposite undersides of the ball, below thecentre, with the central under portion of the ball free of contact withthe projector or the floor.

I claim:

1. A bowling ball projector comprising:

a longitudinally extending handle;

a longitudinally extending head, mounted at the lower end of saidhandle, said head having a smooth, horizontal, lower face for slidingfiatwise on the floor of a bowling alley when said handle is at an angleto said floor;

a pair of parallel, stationary, straight, ball-supporting 30 tracks, onsaid head, each extending continuously longitudinally thereof in ahorizontal plane part lel to the horizontal plane of said lower face andeach on an opposite side of the longitudinal centre line of said head,said parallel, straight tracks supporting a bowling ball under eachopposite side thereof below the ball centre for free rolling therealongat a uniform, spaced distance above said floor, and stationary pushermeans on said head proximate said handle, said means being at a spaceddistance above said tracks and contacting the rear centre portion of aball supported on said tracks for imparting a push to said ball whensaid handle is pushed by the user. 2. A bowling ball projector asspecified in claim 1 wherein said projector is unitary and free ofmoving parts, with said handle permanently fixed to said head at apredetermined angle thereto.

3. A bowling ball projector as specified in claim 1 wherein:

said head includes a pair of straight, parallel, laterally spacedrunners for engaging said floor, the lower faces of said runnersconstituting the said smooth, horizontal lower face of said head.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS358,359 Kochka Feb. 22, 1887 2,263,602 Whittle Nov. 25, 1941 2,280,331Whittle Apr. 21, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS 16,553 France Dec. 17, 1912(Addition to No. 424,192) 267,411 Great Britain Mar. 17, 1927

1. A BOWLING BALL PROJECTOR COMPRISING: A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDINGHANDLE; A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING HEAD, MOUNTED AT THE LOWER END OFSAID HANDLE, SAID HEAD HAVING A SMOOTH, HORIZONTAL, LOWER FACE FORSLIDING FLATWISE ON THE FLOOR OF A BOWLING ALLEY WHEN SAID HANDLE IS ATAN ANGLE TO SAID FLOOR; A PAIR OF PARALLEL, STATIONARY, STRAIGHT,BALL-SUPPORTING TRACKS, ON SAID HEAD, EACH EXTENDING CONTINUOUSLYLONGITUDINALLY THEREOF IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE PARALLEL TO THE HORIZONTALPLANE OF SAID LOWER FACE AND EACH ON AN OPPOSITE SIDE OF THELONGITUDINAL CENTRE LINE OF SAID HEAD, SAID PARALLEL, STRAIGHT TRACKSSUPPORTING A BOWLING BALL UNDER EACH OPPOSITE SIDE THEREOF BELOW THEBALL CENTRE FOR FREE ROLLING THEREALONG AT A UNIFORM, SPACED DISTANCEABOVE SAID FLOOR, AND STATIONARY PUSHER MEANS ON SAID HEAD PROXIMATESAID HANDLE, SAID MEANS BEING AT A SPACED DISTANCE ABOVE SAID TRACKS ANDCONTACTING THE REAR CENTRE PORTION OF A BALL SUPPORTED ON SAID TRACKSFOR IMPARTING A PUSH TO SAID BALL WHEN SAID HANDLE IS PUSHED BY THEUSER.